ROXBURY — Emissions of hydrogen sulfide from Roxbury's Fenimore Landfill hit an all-time high over the weekend, but they still weren't bad enough to trigger evacuations under a new township alert system.

The entrance to the Fenimore Landfill in Roxbury.Robert Sciarrino/ The Star-Ledger

Hydrogen sulfide levels spiked to 810 parts per billion for about three minutes over the weekend, Township Manager Christopher Raths said. But the township's new alerts and evacuations are based on sustained readings over the course of an hour. Levels came down this weekend after quickly reaching that all-time high, Raths said.

Even so, fumes from the landfill are still causing a "miserable situation," Raths said.

That situation could soon be coming to an end. The state Senate is set to vote Thursday on a bill that would let the state shut down landfills that don't meet certain standards; a similar bill is set to go to the Assembly on Monday. Over the last week, the bills unanimously passed legislative committees.

Slight differences in the two versions of the bill would still need to be resolved. It replaces another bill originally filed by Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris), that was aimed more specifically at closing Fenimore.

"I have no reason to believe it won't go through," Raths said.

The landfill closed in
1979, but reopened in 2011 with plans to cap it and build a solar
facility at the site. It has drawn hundreds of complaints from neighbors
about noxious, rotten-egg-like odors and possible health hazards.

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According to the township, it has issued site owner Strategic Environmental Partners 26 summonses for odor violations.

Under the new alert system, sustained hydrogen sulfide levels of 100 ppb trigger electronic warnings to residents, with increasing severity at various levels. The township is also making its senior center available as a respite center.

Raths said residents could stay at the senior center for a few hours at a time, but it's not set up to be a long-term shelter. In the event one proved necessary, the township would turn to the same sort of emergency plans it would use in a Sandy-like storm or other disaster, and make other township facilities available as needed, Raths said.

"If we ever got to that point, we'd have everyone mobilized," he said.

• At 100 parts per billion, residents would get electronic alerts, and the
township's senior center would be opened as a respite center.

• At
510 ppb, residents would get an alert — and be told to expect mild,
transient health effects from hydrogen sulfide inhalation. Residents
would be advised to use the respite center.

• At 27,000 ppb,
residents would be warned via they alerts they should evacuate to the
respite center, take shelter in place or remain in doors. They'd be
warned they could be exposed to irreversable or serious health effects
that could impair their ability to take corrective action. Although most
residents would be advised to self-transport to the respite center,
transportation would be provided for those unable to.

• And at
50,000 ppb, residents would be told to evacuate immediately or risk
life-threatening health effects. In addition to sending electronic
alerts, the the township would send out vehicles with amplifiers warning
residents to evacuate.